Field of the Invention
An effort to maximize the travel of a pushed toy vehicle is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,986 issued to Sam Kupperman et al. for "One-Piece Molded Plastic Vehicle and Transport Member" on Jun. 5, 1979. The '986 patented toy vehicle is constructed with a roller journalled for rotation on an axle that is mounted transversely of the vehicle, and thus also transversely of the intended straight-ahead path of movement of the toy vehicle, and the revolving of the roller is what propels the toy vehicle in its movement. The length of travel of the '986 toy vehicle is greater than a toy vehicle which rides on conventional two front wheels and two rear wheels, but it is not totally effective in achieving the desired end result, nor is it easily implemented by a child attempting to use the toy vehicle as instructed.
More particularly, if the push or manual thrust of the '986 toy vehicle is not in total alignment with the intended straight-ahead path of movement, but instead is slightly at an angular orientation, the roller will revolve in a plane perpendicular to its axle and, because of the angular orientation of the axle, the toy vehicle will also skid or slide on the surface of the revolving roller. The sliding component of the '986 toy vehicle movement lessens its length of travel.